Hi All,
 
Ok, I give up, can't keep my big mouth quiet.
 
That piker in Missouri wrote yesterday:
 
>Bob -- I thought I was pretty good in the "animal knowledge" department for
>a layman (or woman) but what are "moongeese"?  LOL Also I have a serious
>question -- is it really mongeese as a plural or mongoose, like moose?
>
> Maggie -- since when is Sampson a LIGHT nipper???
 
First off Otter, there is a rare life form unique to this area, moongoose.
The male of the species is known to drive red cars and honk the horn before
dropping his pants.  The female differs in the aspect of car color, she is
known to drive a white car.  LOL!!!
 
And even though you may not agree, due to past experience, Sampson is now a
light nipper.  He *used* to pierce my lips.  You only got a couple of small
puncture wounds on the chin.  hehe.
 
As for muscles and bones-a few years back I was discussing domestication
with a retired physician friend of mine.  He is in his 90's and started
practicing medicine when we only had 5 specific drugs.  He told me he had
seen similar changes (like those in the domestication process) in bone
development in humans over the years.  As men quit doing as much manual
labor, his patients would show less and less bone density and strength.
This is all due to the affect muscles have on the bone.
 
One caveat to all of this- Robert Church had talked about ferrets jumping
and then hanging onto things with their front feet.  Well, Nicky has adapted
a somewhat different strategy.  He is my boy who has the spinal injury and
resulting loss of complete use of his hind legs.  He can't jump up to
things, so he using his front legs to pull himself up from the floor.  He
can get onto my bed this way, and it is taller than the norm.  Plus, after
thinking about how this all affects muscles and bones, it may explain his
unique gate.  When he trots, his front legs swing out before going forward.
Perhaps this is due to over development of his front end?
 
I am certainly no expert in this, just a learned civilian.  Perhaps Robert
can postulate on this, he is familiar with Nicky.
 
And Alicia, have a couple of observations about horses and rabies.
Actually, the Imrab 3 vaccine is approved for use in horses.  I used to use
it.  Rabies is not something you really have to worry about in horses.
Although some horses do bite, they have to really chomp down to break the
skin.  They have flat teeth.  And trust me, I know they are strong enough
having been "gotten" by a few in my time, but none has ever broken my skin.
Plus you are assuming that a rapid animal can get close enough to bite the
horse in the first place.  A horses main defence is kicking- they will kick
out at animals and people before trying to bite.
 
I am not saying your point is wrong, but my opinion is that the arguement is
meaningless here.  You are trying to compare carnivores and herbivores, and
I am sure the latter has a miniscule history of spreading rabies.  I also
understand that ferrets cannot spread rabies, even if infected.  But what we
are fighting is generalities and perception.  No one is afraid a horse is
going to run up and bite them.  We need to stick to basic arguements and
facts, not try to dilute with irrelevant stories.
 
Maggie Mae and the Mid Missouri Mustelid Mob of 20, not a piker
--
...without communication there is no community. Community depends on
shared experience and emotion, the communication enters into and
clarifies the sharing.
 
Ralph Ross
[Posted in FML issue 2073]